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Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Title: Ugly

Author: Margaret McHeyzer

Genre: YA/NA

Release Date: October 26, 2015

Synopsis

If I were dead, I
wouldn't be able to see.

If I were dead, I wouldn't be able to feel.

If I were dead, he'd never raise his hand to me again.

If I were dead, his words wouldn't cut as deep as they do.

If I were dead, I'd be beautiful and I wouldn't be so...ugly.

I'm not dead...but I wish I was.

*This is a dark YA/NA stand-alone, full-length novel.

Contains violence.

Blurb

I feel him walking
around the house. The floorboards creak, moving with his footsteps. Vibrations
are traveling through the floor to where I’m sitting. I close my eyes tighter,
and try and hum as quietly as I can.

Please go away, Daddy. Please go away.

My heart is beating fast, and my hands are shaking.
I’m trying really hard not to think about what’s going to happen the minute he
opens the door.

It’s so quiet now. The only sound is my heart
thrumming in my ears. Nothing else. Not a whisper, not a rattle…nothing.

Maybe Daddy’s left, maybe he’s gone to the pub to have
a few drinks. Maybe, just maybe, he’s left…forever.

I take a deep breath and just relax for a moment. My
shoulders drop and I finally stop rocking. Slowly, I take my hands down from my
ears, and I’m so happy because I can’t hear him yelling at me. I can’t hear him
at all.

Gradually I begin to unscrunch my eyes from the way
I’ve tightly closed them. But something’s not right. There’s light coming into
the cupboard.

I don’t even get a chance to open my eyes fully when a
rough hand reaches in, latches onto my ponytail and rips me out of the
cupboard.

“I told you it’d be worse for you if I had to find
you,” Dad says as he drags me by my hair. I’m desperately trying to hold onto
my head so he doesn’t rip my hair out, while my feet try to find traction on
the dirty floorboards.

**For warning**Women who have been brought up to respect themselves
and assert their independence think it's simple. Just walk out. But when your
partner controls all the resources and you have been cut off from friends and
family (if you have any), where do you go? What do you use for rent? For food?
Shame and fear of judgment keep you from telling anyone what you've
experienced. Fear of your partner keeps you from demanding better treatment.

Fear becomes your constant companion. Your life is
governed by artificial rules set by your partner, which may change at a
moment's notice. The rules are reinforced by brutal beatings and other physical
abuse. You cling to the small kindnesses your partner may allow you. They tell
you that whatever you suffer, it's your fault; you've brought it upon yourself.

Put yourself in the shoes of an abuse victim. Forget
your bank accounts, your credit cards, your home and car. All you have are the
clothes on your back. Where do you go for help? And what do you tell people
when you ask for it? How will they react? You will be humiliated, there is no
question of that. You will still live by someone else's rules. And if you're
lucky, your partner won't find you before you get back on your feet.

You will need to work, and chances are you haven't
been allowed enough education to qualify for more than clerking at a retail
outlet. You cringe every time the door opens, afraid your partner will be the
next person through the door, afraid they've finally found you and that this
time, they may beat you to death.The scenario is even worse if there are children
involved. Think about how you would react in this situation. Can you understand
how a family history of abuse can lead to future generations of abusive cycles?
I'm not asking you to feel sympathy, although it would be difficult not to. I'm
asking you to remember, abuse survivors have spent their time in hell. If you
judge a survivor for living, then you're judgment is misplaced.

When you read Ugly, think about your loving family,
and the support you have from them. And remember, Lily is not like you.

Gail's Review

I received this book from NetGalley for a
honest review.. WOW just WOW. What a truly heart-wrenching and
heartwarming story. I truly loved Lily's Story. Domestic Violence is a HUGE
thing and it needs to have a end put to it.. With everything that Lily went
thru from a very very early age she is truly a remarkable young woman. This
book gave me the chills and I so just wanted to jump in the book and save her
myself. I absolutely loved Shayne, Liam and especially Max. Dale and Peter were
2 amazing bosses too along with being amazing father figures to Lily.. Lily never knew how to love or what it felt like to be loved
until all these amazing people came into her life. Trent on the other hand was
a complete waste of a human. What he did to her was despicable. I am so glad he
got what he deserved.

This book has some very serious triggers so please be
forewarned.. This is my second book by Margaret McHeyzer.. The blurb and the
cover just kept calling to me and I heard soooo many things about it.. I truly
truly loved it. Gail - Night and Day
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